Use of a super tweeter worth the investement ?

emaillists,

I enjoy the Enigmacoustics Sopranino with my Audiostatic 240 electrostatic main speaker.  I use the low crossover setting at 8 kHz, which greatly increases the output into much lower freq, compared to the high 12 kHz setting.  Even though the crossover slope is 12 dB/octave, there is quite significant output at midrange freq.  So the benefits of the Enigma are not due to more HF extension, but to more emphasis of upper midrange overtones.  That's why bass instruments have more clarity--more overtones are revealed, displaying the bite of the instrument.  

The only caveat is the parallel connection to the main speaker, which will greatly reduce the net impedance of the combination of the main speaker + Enigma.  Stereophile had informative measurements of the Enigma impedance at the 8, 10, 12 kHz settings.  At 8 kHz, the impedance dips as low as 1.75 ohms.  At 12 kHz, the impedance is about 4 ohms.  If the amp has a weak power supply, the output will be much lower at very low impedances.

Time alignment of the Enigma with the main speaker is important.  Align the driver in the throat of the Enigma with the tweeter throat of the main speaker.  The front of the horn of the Enigma will be quite forward compared to the main speaker.  There is a big improvement in clarity with proper time alignment.

I inserted Taket Batpro 2 supertweeters in my main system with my Daedalus Argos V2s. As others have said, they have a positive SQ audible effect across the frequency range. I have them at the front edge of the top if the cabinet centered. I’d suggest that you research ones that allow you to adjust their sensitivity range to align along the line of your main speaker's sensitivity

@emaillists - the Enigmacoustics Sopranino is still available

I recently added a pair of Elac 4pi's and wow.

Like many have said above, re sound stage opening up, tighter bass, much more recognizable detail in all frequencies. I would not want to take them out and actually added a second pair to an office system. I really do feel the super tweeters just upgraded my main floor standers to punch way above their weight and sound like 5x their cost. They weren't cheap but they did add their value and more, imo.

Good question. My speakers have a horn in the center and a 12" bass driver above and below the horn. I tried it on top of the speaker at first as Townshend recommends, but I suspected that  it would be better to try to align it with the horn, so I built a simple pair of wooden stands that were the height of the horn, and then in an attempt to time align them, I moved them back a bit farther than the distance from the mouth of the horn to the dome of the compression driver in the horn. The result was immediately noticeable.

I think that Townshend and their dealers (one of whom I spoke with) should amend their placement recommendation and encourage users to experiment with placement. On top of the speaker might be good for some if the top of the speaker is at ear level and the tweeter of the main speaker is near to the top, but in my case, the top of the speaker is far above my ear level, and if you're using a ribbon supertweeter like the Townshend, you need to consider that they don't have wide dispersion like dome tweeters, so they should be at or near the level of your ears and pointed toward you. 

roxy54, do you have to search before finding the right placement on top of your main speaker, do you have to move them more in front or back or in line of your main speaker tweeter ?

chorus, I will give them a try soon, and I let you know for sure, thank you .

@alexberger, +1

That's interesting information Alex.

There are two types of super tweeter implementations.

1. In audible spectrum from 11-13KHz

2. Ultrasound 20KHz and up.

I don't have experience with Ultrasound implementation. But people say it works.

The first one is needed when speakers are not extended on top (like some vintage and full-range speakers). And it works and improves sound a lot. Makes sound more refined, improves soundstage and adds air. I did 1st order and 4th order crossovers for my Fostex T90a super tweeters and 4th order is superior by far. 1st order adds distortions to the upper midrange that makes sound harsh. No wonder such famous companies like Tannoy, Harbeth, JBL do 3rd order crossovers for super tweeters. 

carlsbad,

Say and think what you will, bottom line - they work.

jasonbourne52,

How would you know if you haven't tried them?

Unless you have bats and dogs as pets a waste of money!

carlsbad,

What you said is true, but the point is that even though we definitely can't hear 18khz or even less, supertweeters are still audible within the fabric of music, and it's not exactly known why that is so. 

Super Tweeter in my system = Highly Recommended ;-)

i experimented with adding pair of cheap ribbons blu tak'ed to the back of my speakers, a 0.47uf cap each 

and while i cannot directly hear anything coming from the ribbons

the soundstage just opened, the air, my god the air

spacious like all get out

go try. aliexpress is your friend ;p

chorus,

I don't have the knowledge to know the reason why, but the little I have read suggests that no one really knows exactly why, but we are able in some way to perceive the supertweeters contribution.

I do not hear at the super tweeter level anymore. 

Interestingly enough recently a longtime friend who has forgotten

more than I will ever know about sound  told me

that even I would benefit from high frequency tweeters.

Why, how I asked? I do not know if he even knew the real

reason why but he did believe it. Thanks for bringing this up

again as now I will experiment with tweeters that play beyond 

my measured frequency hearing. If sub woofers can make a system

improve overall beyond the few additional abs they add then why 

not the same on the other end???

I’ve used my own contraptions with 40khz tweeters. Just have to get the acoustic centers correct.. That’s the real bonus.

Regards

I bought a pair of supertweeters that were the EMIT type, and I wasn't satisfied with the sound and stopped using them. Two years later I bought the Townshend ribbon supertweeters and have been very happy with the result with no plans to get rid of them. I agree with emailists that they have an effect across the audible range, including the bass definition.

I put Super tweeters on my LS-50s. They were over the top and needed a good crossover but it moved the LS-50s to the next level.

I use super tweeters with my TAD speakers. Tad’s are quite extended with a beryllium tweeter so there is really no technical need for a super tweeter.

Just a few days ago I decided to cover the super tweeters with something to temporarily see how the system sounded without them.

It was quite a difference and definitely reinforced my decision years ago to add them. Mine are Enigmacoustics Sopranino permanently charged electrostatic.

Not sure if they’re made any longer. The thing is once I got them I felt the system was a little out of balance and decided to get subwoofers to extend the lowest octave. Extending the frequency response on both ends aids in the realism significantly.

I also think as we age and loose high frequencies it’s helpful to augment them.

I put a pair of super tweeters on may ATC 40 speakers and it made an uncanny difference. What really surprised me was the bass took a big step forward in definition and realism, don't ask why I don't know it just did. They were an entirely different pair of speakers from then onward.